In the last few years, I have had the privilege of getting to know many music educators. I have been constantly amazed at the continued commitment to the lives of children by people who society claims to celebrate, but cuts funding and salaries every chance they get. Throughout this Teacher Appreciation Week, Note Knacks would […]
When I was in graduate school, Whole Language was all the rage. The idea was that children needed to learn skills within a context. Teachers let go of basal readers and flash cards and dove into meaningful, thoughtful literature. It sounded perfect! Who wouldn’t rather read “The Snowy Day” by Ezra Jack Keats rather than […]
Last week I was in Hartford, CT for the Biennial North Eastern NAFME Conference. I did a session on “Engage the Special Needs Students in Your Room”. As I did the research to prepare, I noticed that a lot of what we do to help our special needs students are often good for everyone, to […]
It is hard to believe that people are capable of such acts. In the end, what has really been accomplished? Did the person or people really get what they want? I somehow doubt it. It is so senseless. Last weekend I was in Winston-Salem, NC on business. My hotel was next to a Barnes and […]
I was looking through my Google Alerts, as I do every morning, and found yet another study that shows the correlation between fine arts instruction and academic success. (It was from an article that was written by Ms. Sondra Collins in Marion County, Florida. See link below.) This is no surprise to arts educators everywhere; we have […]
Last night people all over the country stopped what they were doing to not only watch the Super Bowl, but also the much anticipated Halftime show. Can you imagine a Halftime show without music or an infamous Super Bowl commercial without any music at all? What would that even look like? I have an idea […]
We want this to be a place for you to come to for new ideas and solutions to everyday challenges that arise in the music classroom. We are just getting started, but soon this site will be packed with lesson plans, classroom ideas and information about best practices. We encourage you to participate in the […]
Every year we make resolutions and hope they will stick! This year, why not enlist your students to come up with some resolutions for your classroom? Here are 5 ideas that can help! ORGANIZE! Create systems in your classroom to help it run smoothly. You can brainstorm with your students on ways to improve such […]